NEPAL: Maoist Youths Set 3 Public School Buses on Fire

July 25, 2012

In theory, the YCL was eliminated from the Maoist system. But it would appear that thug activity, at least within the more radical faction of the Maoists, is alive and kicking.

Yesterday, three buses of a Delhi Public school branch in eastern Nepal were set afire by activists of the student's union affiliated to the breakaway hard-line faction of the Maoists, protesting against schools running under foreign investment.

The buses carrying 150 students of class XI and XII were en route to Dharan yesterday, when the radical Maoist student activists stopped it near Charkose Jungle area at Seuti Khola river and set them on fire.

The students were unharmed, at least physically. Their right to an education is another story.

The Maoist student union -- All Nepal National Free Students Union - Revolutionary (ANNFSU-R) is affiliated to the CPN-Maoist party led by hardliner Mohan Vaidya “Kiran”, who recently broke ranks with the Prachanda-led Maoists to form a more radical outfit. Delhi Public School Dharan is affiliated to India's Delhi Public School.

ANNFSU-R had also enforced a two-day shutdown in Dharan and Sunsari districts over the last two days to protest against schools operating under foreign investments, promoting foreign culture and charging high fees.

“It's a heinous crime to attack school buses despite the fact that schools are declared peace zone," Dil Kumar Ban, Chairman of Private and Boarding School Organisation Nepal (PABSON) said in a statement.